 Hughes in 2009 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Mervyn Gregory Hughes | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1961-11-23)23 November 1961 (age 63) Euroa,Victoria, Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname | Fruitfly[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 192 cm (6 ft 4 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Right-armfast | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | Bowler | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National side | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Test debut (cap 332) | 13 December 1985 v India | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last Test | 17 March 1994 v South Africa | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ODI debut (cap 104) | 11 December 1988 v Pakistan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last ODI | 23 May 1993 v England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1981/82–1994/95 | Victorian Bushrangers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1983 | Essex | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1997/98–1998/99 | ACT Comets | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source:Cricinfo,26 December 2010 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mervyn Gregory Hughes (born 23 November 1961) is a former Australian cricketer. A right-arm fast bowler, he representedAustralia in 53Test matches between 1985 and 1994, taking 212 wickets. He played 33One Day Internationals, taking 38 wickets. He took ahat-trick in a Test against theWest Indies at theWACA in 1988–89. In 1993, he took 31 wickets inthe Ashes series againstEngland. He was a useful lower-order batsman, scoring two half-centuries in Tests and over 1,000 runs in all. He also represented theVictorian Bushrangers,Essex in Englishcounty cricket, theACT Comets andAustralia A in theWorld Series Cup.
Hughes was born inEuroa,Victoria. He started kindergarten inApollo Bay and his first year at school came when the family went back to Euroa. Organised sport began in 3rd grade at Werribee. In 5th grade, he pestered his father to be allowed to join football at Werribee where he held his own, despite the fact that he was one of the smallest players when out of his age group. Hughes' enthusiasm for sport was described as "unquenchable."[2]
Hughes started his career playing districtcricket withFootscray in 1978–79. Footscray has subsequently had their main home ground named after him; it is now known as theMervyn G. Hughes Oval. He was selected for Victoria in 1981–82 and made his debut against theSouth Australian Redbacks.
Hughes first appeared for Australia againstIndia in 1985–86. He took 1–123 and was not re-selected until the Ashes series against England the following year.
At the WACA Ground in 1988–89, Hughes completed a hat-trick that was unusual as it was spread across three separate overs, two innings and two different days. He hadCurtly Ambrose caught behind with the last ball of his 36th over; ended the West Indies' first innings in his 37th, by removingPatrick Patterson; and more than a day later, completed his hat-trick by trappingGordon Greenidge lbw with the first ball of the West Indies' second innings.[3] Hughes finished the match with career-best figures of 13/217, taking 5/130 in the first innings and 8/87 in the second.[4]
The Australian selectors always viewed Hughes as a Test match player rather than a one-day player. He was generally only selected for the shorter game when another player was injured or otherwise unavailable.
Hughes' physical presence (a burly 6'4"), handlebar moustache, a penchant for exuberant displays of affection for his fellow players, along with a tendency to talk to the opposition in inventively colorful language (his nickname was "Fruitfly" – a somewhat incongruous nickname untilAllan Border explained it was a reference to "Australia's greatest national pest") and a (some would say) "mincing" run-up (that at times stretched to 45 paces), made him a firm favourite amongst supporters, who would often imitate his warm-up stretches behind him en masse. In England, on his second Ashes tour in 1993, the crowd often chanted "Sumo" when he ran in to bowl.[5]
Hughes played his last Test inCape Town againstSouth Africa in 1994.
Late in his career, Hughes undertook a stint with the ACT Comets, which turned out to be unsuccessful. He claimed only five wickets at an average of 46.80 over six matches (Rodney Davison,Jimmy Maher,Jamie Cox,Shaun Young andRyan Campbell).
Hughes replaced Allan Border in June 2005 as a selector for the Australian cricket team, although his performance as a selector came under much scrutiny after many controversial decisions and the loss of the number-one ranking in Test matches after the2009 Ashes series. However, Australia would go on to have a successful 2009–10 summer, finishing undefeated in all three forms of the game. Hughes though, was later dropped as a selector for the Australian cricket team and subsequently replaced byGreg Chappell on 29 October 2010.
He is a prominent supporter of theWestern Bulldogs in theAustralian Football League[6] and has also done some acting, portrayingIvan Milat in the comedy movieFat Pizza. Additionally, Hughes has appeared on TV commercials as well, featuring losing weight with "The 14-day All-Bran Challenge" and appearing as himself in the English comedy showHale and Pace.
Hughes was a notorious consumer of alcohol and food. Towards the end of his career, this was felt to have increased damage to his knees and may have ultimately led to a shortening of his Australian and Victorian playing careers. Having always been rather overweight, he participated in both seasons ofChannel Nine'sCelebrity Overhaul to lose weight and improve his fitness. He was the top performer (weight-wise) in the first season of the show.
Hughes is noted for his largehandlebar moustache. Described by Cricinfo as being "of incredible proportions",[4] the moustache became sufficiently synonymous with Hughes for him to be rumored to insure it for £200,000.[7] In a 2013Sky Sports interview during the2013 Ashes series, he quashed this rumour as being false.
Hughes also playedAustralian rules football during the winter in the late 1970s and early 1980s; at his peak, he was a key position player for theWerribee Football Club in theVictorian Football Association first division.[8]
In 2015, Hughes appeared on the Australian version of the TV showI'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!.[9]
In an interview forHotspur magazine, Hughes revealed he has supportedTottenham Hotspur since the early 1980s. "I went to a mate's house to watch the FA Cup Final, everyone in the house was supporting the other team except the guy I sat next to. He was English, and I told him I was with him 100 per cent. Spurs won and I've supported them ever since."[10]
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